Be safe and smart when shopping online or on mobile devices

Shopping and banking online can save money and make your life more convenient. At the same time, criminals are active online as well, and their scams are getting harder to spot, so you need to do more than before to protect yourself when you’re making transactions online.

In the past, it was fairly easy to spot fake websites. Poorly written messages or unbelievably low prices from supposedly big-time online retailers were easy giveaways.

Now, though, fake shopping sites disguised as real ones and phoney emails have become more sophisticated and are harder to detect.  

Even the police here have had problems. The Singapore police warned consumers in May, for instance, of a police impersonation scam involving fake Singapore Police Force (SPF) websites.

Along with setting up fake websites, scammers are “phishing” to get personal information such as your bank account details, personal identification number (PIN), credit card number or identity card number.

The most common phishing method is to send you a fake email supposedly from a site such as your bank, a retailer such as Amazon or PayPal. The email may ask you to confirm an order or pay an invoice, for example, or tell you your account is suspended. These phishing emails contain links which take you to fake webpages that look like real shopping sites, and then try to get you to divulge your personal information.

Some scammers also use pop-up messages, such as ones saying your computer is infected with a virus or asking you to update software.

MILLIONS LOST IN SCAMS

The losses from these scams are huge. Last year, consumers here lost at least S$99 million to scams involving e-commerce transactions, email impersonators and more, police said, up 70 per cent from 2016. Email impersonation scams cost the most, at S$43 million, and one case resulted in a loss of S$5.7 million.

In another type of scam, a 60-year-old put her personal details into a webpage resembling the police’s official site after getting a call from a person claiming to be a police officer. She found out soon afterwards that S$300,000 had been taken from her bank account.

The police warned consumers last December to look out for fake emails from Singapore Airlines asking for personal information and credit card details. Around the same time, emails claiming that PayPal “couldn’t verify your recent transactions” asked unsuspecting consumers to supply their home address and credit card information to resolve bogus problems.

This year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) warned consumers here in May about fake emails supposedly from banks that asked customers to update their personal details. DBS issued a warning about a phishing scam targeting POSB Bank customers and mimicking the POSB Internet Banking log-in page.

PAY ATTENTION TO DETAILS

To avoid getting scammed, there are a few simple steps you can take to protect yourself. You will need to be alert all the time, though, since just one mistake could cost you a lot.

Every site you shop on should start with “https://”, which indicates that it is a secure URL page. The site should also have contact information for the company.

Be especially careful if you receive emails or advertisements on social media sites that look like messages from well-known brands. A phishing email may claim to be from a legitimate company and it may look like you’re going to a real website when you click on a link. Think before you click, since it can put you at risk for malware or identity theft.

Be especially suspicious of any email or message that asks you to enter your personal information, whether it is by replying to the email or through a link to a website.

Instead, always enter the URL or domain name of the website into your browser’s address bar.

If you have any doubts at all, go directly to the real site rather than clicking on a potentially dangerous link.

You can also check the retailer’s website or your bank's website for information or announcements about Internet security.

WATCH OUT FOR POP-UP WINDOWS

Be wary about those pop-up windows, too, since they often pretend to be legitimate components of a website even though they are phishing attempts.

Staying vigilant and verifying websites makes you much less vulnerable.

One tool that can help is an anti-phishing toolbar, which is available from popular Internet browsers such as Chrome or Firefox. They run quick checks on the sites that you are visiting and compare them to lists of known phishing sites, then send an alert if you go somewhere that is suspicious.

If you suspect that you have been scammed, change the passwords or PINs on all your online accounts right away. You should also contact the legitimate shopping site or your bank immediately, to ask for help.

Anyone can be tricked by a well-crafted scam, so don’t be embarrassed to ask for support. Remember that very smart people get fooled all the time.

Even though all the news reports about online scams may make you wary, there are great deals to be had online. Taking a little extra care and using easy-to-install software can make all the difference in keeping you safe from the ever-smarter criminals who are trying to take your money.